Broken Faith: Part 2 Fallen Angels
by Harthos
Summary: The second chapter in Broken Faith. Ganymede goes back to Brittania, this time to Scotland where he again runs into Gideon. GargoylesHighlander Crossover. Also contains some King Arthur tieins


Part Two: Fallen Angels.

A.D. 743. Northern Scotland,

The weary traveler now known as Ganymede, dismounted from his horse. He tied the creature to a tree for the night, here at the edge of these woods. The tall, well-built Greek man with the long, blonde hair stood there in the stillness, listening to the silence of the night. It had been nearly four hundred years since he had last been to this region; it was around AD 400, when he had gone on a mission with the Romans to Ireland. A lot had happened since then; he had traveled to many far away lands, and learned and seen many things. He had come here to think, and to spend some time alone, but perhaps the Fates had other ideas.

Meanwhile, at the Castle Wyvern, not far away,

"What do you mean, she's been kidnapped?" shouted the Lord Blackburn, the lord of the castle. "I am sorry, sir," replied the guard, "They came from out of nowhere! I am sorry!" Blackburn raised his hand to strike the man, but it was grabbed and held back by a large, clawed hand. The hand was that of the leader of the gargoyles. In those days, there were leaving, breathing gargoyles, who were mere stone during the day, but came alive at night.

This gargoyle, who was the leader of the gargoyle clan at the Castle Wyvern, who had no name, as most gargoyles did not, now spoke up: "Leave him be, Blackburn! Goliath and I shall see to returning your daughter home."

Goliath, the younger, less experienced one of the two, spoke up from behind his comrade: "Indeed, and we shall make them pay for what they have done!"

And so, the two creatures of the night ran up to the roof of the eastern tower, leaped off into space, and, spreading their massive, bat-like wings, soured off into the night.

Now, gargoyles were a caring, noble race of creatures, despite their appearance. The elder gargoyle, who was now over two hundred years old. He was the leader ever since they had come here, many years ago. The younger, Goliath, one of only a handful of gargoyles who even had a name, had been born here, shortly after the gargoyles came. He was now more than a hundred years old. The elder gargoyle knew that Goliath would someday take over when he was too old to lead the clan. Being such good trackers, as all gargoyles were, it did not take them long to find the kidnappers.

Far down below, three men on horseback rode swiftly through the night. Ganymede had heard their passing, and was now riding hard toward them through the woods to see what the commotion could be so late in the night. As he rode, he heard a sound that chilled his heart. It sounded as ominous as what one would think a banshee to sound, and as intimidating as a wild beast. As he finally reached the three men on horses, he saw what it was that had been making that awful sound. There, in a brawl with two of the men, was a large, grotesque, demon-like creature with bat wings. He was about to assist the men, but then he saw the other man riding off, carrying with him a young girl, who could be heard screaming at the top of her lungs. Then, he watched as another gargoyle swooped down, and, after pushing the rider off of the horse, carefully grabbed the young girl from off of the horse.

As this gargoyle flew past the other one, he herd it speak his astonishment, saying: "I'll carry the lass back to the castle."

"Fine!" replied the elder one, "I can handle this, just go!"

Now Ganymede new who to take sides with; he quickly drew his sword and began fighting one of the men. After a brief moment, both men were defeated, and lay there on the ground.

He then turned cautiously to the strange creature, saying: "What Are you?"

The being looked at him, and then, with a serious tone, replied: "I, am a gargoyle, and who might you be, lad?"

Ganymede, now relaxing a bit, replied: "I, am known as Ganymede," he said, putting away his sword and taking a friendly bow. (though, he had learned long ago never to lower one's eyes when bowing).

"Pleasure to meet you," said the gargoyle, putting away his own weapon and extending a hand to shake, which Ganymede accepted. "It was certainly nice to have yer halp there, lad."

"Well, to be honest, I almost took sides with those men," he said, indicating the two on the ground, "Then I saw your friend saving that little girl."

"Eye, that be Lord Blackburn's daughter, the princess Isobel. Those bloody bandits are probably just trying to stir up trouble to intimidate us. Where ya going tonight, lad?"

"Well," Ganymede replied, "I didn't really have any particular destination in mind, I was just out traveling. I just arrived in Scotland earlier today."

"This is no place to be out on his own at night, why don'cha come to the castle for the night," said the gargoyle, with his deep Scottish accent. "I'm sure the king would be very grateful to here that you helped save his daughter, there may even be a reword in it for ya; if nothing else, ya can get a nice meal and a place to stay fer the night."

"Very well," said Ganymede, "It has been a very long journey,I could do with a good hot meal, and a roof over my head."

And so, they both set off for the castle. When they arrived, they where greeted by lord Blackburn. The gargoyle then introduced him to Ganymede.

"Ah, so you are the one who helped rescue my daughter," said Blackburn, all-butt excluding the two gargoyles who had contributed the most to the rescue.

"Allow me to treat you to a feast from my table tonight!"

"I would indeed love that," said Ganymede.

As Blackburn led them on, Ganymede noticed the gargoyles making off in another direction. When he inquired about this, the elder gargoyle replied: "We gargoyles do not eat at the table with the humans; we have our own meal down in the rookery. That is how it has always been for as long as we have lived here at this castle."

And so, they continued on into the main dining hall, a grand room that included three long tables that had been put together to form one long table in the form of a big U. At the "base" of this U, was a raised area on which sat another, smaller table. This table was set up specifically for the royal family. Herein, all the knights of the castle came to feast and tell tales of their times outside in the world. Ganymede walked into the room with Blackburn who, upon entering, gathered everyone's attention.

"Friends! Fellow warriors! Allow me to have your attention! Tonight, a group of barbarians kidnapped my dear, sweet daughter, Princess Auhrea. I am almost certain that these men were in league with the very ones who attacked us just days ago. But that matters not, at the moment, what I would like to address, is that the two gargoyles who went to rescue her," and at the mention of this, there was scattered murmuring among his men, but he continued, "may not have been successful in doing so, without the help of this brave passerby. Allow me to introduce Ganymede!"

At this, everyone gave a big hearty welcome. He then introduced Ganyemede to his wife, Christina. "Go on, sit wherever you like," Blackburn said, and then said: "Bring on the food!"

At this, several servants came out, bearing large trays of various foods. Ganymede took a seat on the outside part of the table, as he saw that no one was seated in the inside. He soon found that this was so that entertainers could come in this area during the meal. The food was delicious, and the entertainment for the night consisted three beautiful gypsy dancers. At one point during the meal, Blackburn also asked Ganymede if would consider staying on at the castle, and helping them fight; he said Ganymede could wait until morning to decide, and could tell him at breakfast.

After dinner, Blackburn had one of the younger servants show Ganymede around the castle. After a time, he asked to be shown to the rookery. He could hear the creatures inside gnarling and chowing on their food. He opened the large, wooden doors and went in. As he walked in, the gargoyles all stared at him like he was some sort of contingency. There were many gargoyles there. They all looked on him with hostility, but the elder gargoyle approached him, saying, in a very serious, almost interrogative tone:

"What brings ye down here, lad? What business do ya have with the gargoyles?"

" I.. I just wanted to talk to you," replied Ganymede.

(sigh), "if ya want to talk, lad," said the gargoyle, "come back tomorrow evening"

"Why can I not come back in the morning?" asked Ganymede

"Tomorrow night lad, trust me, lad, tomorrow night."

"Very well," said Ganymede, and left.

Ganymede went to sleep in one of the guest chambers. He slept well, and arose early, and when he awoke, went outside and walked along the walls of the castle. It was not yet morning, but one could see the first grey of morning just starting to peek over the eastern horizon towards the main land. As he watched the sky, he saw several gargoyles swooping up onto the highest levels of the castle, and then, he saw something more remarkable then anything he had seen in many years. The gargoyles perched on the edges of the castle, and, as the first glimmer of sunlight began to creep over the horizon, he watched the gargoyles as, one by one; they each turned to stone before his eyes.

"Heh, I've witnessed that so many times," said one of the guards standing near him, "and yet it still never ceases to amaze me."

You don't seem to show the same indifference towards them as many of the other people who live here. One of them said that humans and gargoyles haven't gotten on together well since they have been here at this castle; does that mean they haven't always been here?"

"Well," replied the guard. "It is said, that long ago, the gargoyles were brought to this world from below by Merlin, to protect Camelot. And, according to legend, after Camelot fell, the gargoyles, no longer having anyone to defend, migrated north, and most of them made their home here, at this castle. Eh," he shrugged, "'tis but a story."

Just at that moment, an alarm was sounded by one of the guards on the eastern wall.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Fortunately, Ganymede already had his sword, he'd learned long ago to always keep it with him. The army that attacked was not an especially large one, and it wasn't long before they retreated. Blackburn decided to let them go, this time. But at some point in the battle, Ganymede was sure he had felt the buzz. He had to check it out. He quickly got on his horse and dashed out of the castle in pursuit of the fleeing horsemen.

He finally caught up to them, and managed to defeat some of them, but then he was cut down. He never did feel the buzz again that day.

It was early afternoon when he revived again, and he saw that his horse had either run away or been killed. He made his way back to the castle on foot, and it was nearly dark when he got there. When he arrived, the gates were opened for him, and he was welcomed in.

"Ganymede," said Blackburn "you're back !"

"Yes," replied a winded Ganymede. "Heh, one of them stole something that was very precious to me. I finally caught up to some of the stragglers, but they almost bested me."

"Yes, it must have been precious indeed. I see you lost your horse and almost lost your life. But, you fought bravely in battle, tomorrow morning I shall knight thee. Come, you must need rest."

"Yes," said Ganymede, "But first there is something I must do."

"Very well, I shall see you in the morning."

Ganymede did not respond to this, but instead, simply nodded.

He then went and contacted one of the gargoyles in order to have the oldest one meet him in the rookery. Several minutes later, the gargoyle was there to meet him.

"What is it, lad? What was it you wanted to talk about.?"

"Well," Ganymede started, I am sure you must have heard of the battle today. I think I know one of the men that was in the group that attacked us."

"An old enemy of yours?"

"Something like that," said Ganymede.

"I'm sure it's nothing my friend, these same people have been attacking us for weeks now."

"No," Ganymede said, more serious now. "Listen, there is something I need to show you; you are not the only magical beings around here." With that, he took out a knife. "Trust me," he said "wait around for about an hour, and I will return"

Then, he took the knife, thrust it into his own heart, and then fell down dead on the floor. The gargoyle could hardly believe what this foolish man had just done, but he had agreed to wait, and gargoyles Always keep their word. And so, he waited, and sure enough, after little more than an hour, Ganymede sat up, gasping for air.

Once he had caught his breath, Ganymede stood up.

"What sorcery is this?" asked the gargoyle

"I do not know how or why, all I know is that I can only die if you separate my head from my body. There are others just like me, some of them are evil. We are faster, stronger, and tougher than ordinary men. Also, we have a special ability to sense when another Immortal is nearby. I felt one today, in the battle. I rode off after them to see if I could find the Immortal that was among them, but I was killed before I found whoever it was."

"Ah, so you are afraid that this…Immortal, will come and overtake the castle?"

"Yes, and I think we should go and find them at once."

"But they may have a whole army!" exclaimed

"No, if I can find the Immortal that is among them, and take him out, then we should be able to come back here and defeat them with the help of Blackburn and his knights. If we take a small squadron of gargoyles, I should be able to do it."

"Very well, I will go and gather a group of my best warriors."

"Good, but I need to stop by the kitchen before we leave; because I just revived, I can go without sleep, but I do need food."

"Very well," said the gargoyle "meet us outside the castle as soon as you can !"

With that, Ganymede was off, headed for the kitchen. When he got there, however, one of the kitchen hands noticed him but did not see him. He got out his sword and put it to the young man's neck

"It is me, Ganymede, the one who helped save the princess. I am about to go on a secret mission, and I need some provisions. Listen, boy! I was never here, Got It?" The young man nodded. "Good!" he said, and threw him down.

Ganymede quickly grabbed a large hunk of cheese and a loaf of bread. He put the cheese in his pack and tore off a chunk of the bread with his mouth. He quickly scarffed down the bread and washed it down with a swig of wine. He put the rest of the bread in his pack and got some water that he found in a barrel to put in his water bottle, then he was gone. Next, he rushed to the stable. He went in quietly and found the guard. He quickly disarmed the man and stole one of the horses. Years ago, he had spent decades learning to deal with horses, so that now he could ride and command almost any horse as if it were his own. He galloped out of the castle and soon he found the gargoyles soaring above him. They had been sitting in wait on the castle wall. The elder gargoyle was leading the way, along with Goliath, and 12 other gargoyles.

They rode on through the night, the gargoyles using their tracking skills to find the way. After only a few hours, they found the enemy's camp. To their surprise, there were less than fifty of them. Then, Ganymede felt the buzz. However, just at that moment, he heard what he figured must have been a gargoyle swooping down; then, whoever had caused the buzz, was out of "range". The commotion awoke most of the soldiers, who now scrambled after the gargoyles who were trying to get away. As soon as the soldiers had gone into the think of the forest, however, the gargoyles began turning back on them, jumping out at them from the shelter of the shadows. By the time the gargoyles started to lose the momentum that this surprise had granted them, many of the men were already dead, and it was starting to be a fairly even battle between the two sides. The Elder gargoyle charged through the fray, slashing men, sometimes three-at-a-time. He saw in front of him a man with a huge sword charging to attack one of the other gargoyles. He leaped on the man, tackling him to the ground, far from the rest of the fight. Here it was somewhat more clear, and when the man raised his face to the gargoyle, he could clearly see the human's face in the moonlight. The familiar face curled an evil grin

"You?" said the shocked gargoyle, recalling this face from long in his past.

FLASHBACK: A.D.564, battlefield in the wilderness of Britain

This was it; the fate of the Great Kingdom lay in the hands of this battle. If Arthur could not push Mordrid into surrender this time, then he would surely crush Camelot. Arthur's advisor, Merlin, was now gone, but he had, however, left his friends, the gargoyles. Led by the most powerful of their kind, Ert Norak, they now assisted The King in this decisive battle.the gargoyle had been second to Ert Norak at the time, and would someday take his place as leader of the clans. No one was sure just how many men Mordird had fighting with him; the Great Kingdom was now falling apart, and many of those who had once been loyal followers of the king, who he had would have once called brother, had now turned against him. The gargoyles were unsure just why these things were happening; it had not been made clear to them just what had happened. For these were human affairs, and human problems, but one thing every gargoyle was certain of, was that they would all hold strong to Arthur and to The Kingdom, even to the bitter end.

The gargoyles had fought bravely along side the knights, since the early evening. But now, as the night deepened, all knew that the time for the Kingdom was drawing to a close in this battle. For it was not only Mordrid and his men, that sought to destroy the Kingdom; when other nations had learned of the recent fragility that had erupted in Camelot, they came upon her without mercy. And now, it was assured, that if Arthur could not win this fight against Mordrid and his men, then the invaders would indeed crush the Kingdom. The bearded gargoyle had tasted much violence this night. Then, he saw Arthur dueling with Mordrid. He wanted to go and assist the king, but just then, he herd his own leader, Ert Norak, crying out. When he arrived at the source of the cries, however, it was too late, the gargoyle had been slain.

"HaHA!" cried his killer, "I have slain your leader, and the infidel Arthur will soon be dead as well, killed at the hands of Mordrid. His kingdom shall fall today, and there is nothing, he, nor his god can do!"

He drew his massive dagger and lunged at the killer with mad, maniacal fury, screaming with his horrible gargoyle's screech. He fought gallantly, but this man was indeed a skilled swordsman, and would not be conquered so easily. But the gargoyle was determined to avenge his beloved leader; he would not let his death be in vain. Finally, as the night began to come to a close, he managed to kill the bearded man with his dagger, piercing him through the chest. Before he left him, however, he got a very good look at his face.

He quickly went back to the king

_Surely there may still be time!_ , he thought.

But when he arrived, it was too late, the king lay there on the ground, bleeding, and mortally wounded.

"Your Majesty!" he cried, barely able to speak.

"Where… Where is.. Ert Norak?" he asked the gargoyle

"He, he is dead," said the gargoyle through his tears.

"Then you are now their leader….Camelot.. is……no more"

"But what is to become of the gargoyles, your Majesty?"

All the king said was: "Long live..Camelot..." He looked up just long enough to say: "Thank you, to all….the.. gar….goyles." Then, his head dropped, and he was gone.

The gargoyle cried out in agony. Dawn was approaching now, and he knew that he must find a safe hiding place, lest he be found by the soldiers and crushed while he was a statue. When the gargoyles arose the next night, they were all alone. He found what gargoyles he could, that were still alive, and together, they journeyed north, to Scotland, where they found a new home, he Castle Wyvern, where they had been ever since.

NOW,

the gargoyle said: "No, it can't be! I killed you! You who helped Mordrid to bring down the kingdom!"

"You killed me, and now I shall kill You!" said the man.

He then thrust the gargoyle off of him, and brought up his massive sword. The gargoyle brought up his own sword.

"You are one Them, are you Not?" said the gargoyle, with fire in his eyes. "I know what you are, and I now know how to destroy you! I shall take your rotten head!"

With that, the two figures began to tear towards each other, but just at that moment, the man felt a very strange sensation.

"LEAVE US!" Cried Ganymede, "This is MY Battle!"

"No!" cried the gargoyle, but Ganymede pushed him out of the way, and started a fight of his own with the man who he now identified as

"Gideon! I KNEW it was You!"

"Yes!" he said with an evil look

"But Why? Rome has fallen! What quarrel do you have with These people?"

"I helped Mordrid lead the attack on The Great Kingdom of Camelot, which was protected by these pitiful creatures!" Those who survived have come here to Scotland, and I have come to make sure that the last remnants of Camelot are wiped out!"

"You were the one who helped Mordrid? But why? Your grudge was against Rome!"

Ah, but Camelot stood for many of the same things that I hate simply because they reminded me Of Rome! They And their stupid, so-called god! Enough Talk!"

He lunged at Ganymede, and the two of them began going at it once more. Gideon soon managed to overpower him, disarming him, and knocking him to the ground.

"It ends tonight," he said, with his sword pointed down at Ganymede

"Ganymede!" cried Goliath, who now leaped on Gideon, knocking him to the ground, before he could recover, Goliath had ripped him open. Just at that very moment, one of the men stabbed Ganymede through with a sword. Soon, he fell down on the ground, dead.

When he finally awoke, all the gargoyles had left, as had Gideon and the men. He spent two days searching the surrounding area for him, but with no luck. He decided now, that it was time to leave Scotland, and he would not be going on to Ireland, after all.


End file.
